The present invention relates to electrochemichromic solutions and devices based thereon. Such solutions are well-known and are designed to either color or clear, depending on desired application, under the influence of applied voltage.
Such devices have been suggested for use as rearview mirrors in automobiles such that in night driving conditions, application of a voltage would darken a solution contained in a cell incorporated into the mirror (U.S. Pat. No. 3,280,701, Oct. 25, 1966). Similarly, it has been suggested that windows incorporating such cells could be darkened to block out sunlight, and then allowed to lighten again at night. Electrochemichromic cells have been used as display devices and have been suggested for use as antidazzle and fog-penetrating devices in conjunction with motor vehicle headlamps (British Patent Specification 328017, May 15, 1930).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,090,782 to Bredfeldt et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,752,119 to Ueno et al. (June 1988), Chemical Abstract 86:196871c, 72-Electro. Chemistry, Vol. 86, 1977, I. V. Shelepin et al. in Electrokhimya, 13(3), 404-408 (March 1977), O. A. Ushakov et al., Electrokhimya, 14(2), 319-322 (February 1978), U.S.S.R. Patent 566863 to Shelepin (August 1977), U.S. Pat. No. 3,451,741 to Manos, European Patent Publication 240,226 published Oct. 7, 1987 to Byker, U.S. Pat. No. 3,806,229 to Schoot et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,093,358 to Shattuck et al., European Patent Publication 0012419 published Jun. 25, 1980 to Shattuck and U.S. Pat. No. 4,139,276 to Clecak et al. all disclose electrochemichromic solutions of anodic and cathodic electrochromically coloring components which provide self-erasing, high color contrast, single compartment cells. Such anodic and cathodic coloring components comprise redox couples selected to exhibit the following reaction: ##STR1## The redox couple is selected such that the equilibrium position of the mixture thereof lies completely to the left of the equation. At rest potential, the anodically coloring reductant species RED.sub.1, and the cathodically coloring oxidant species OX.sub.2 are colorless. To cause a color change, voltage is applied and the normally colorless RED.sub.1 is anodically oxidized to its colored antipode OX.sub.1, while, simultaneously, OX.sub.2 is cathodically reduced to its colored antipode, RED.sub.2. These cathodic/anodic reactions occur preferentially at the electrodes which, in practical devices, are typically transparent conductive electrodes. Within the bulk of the solution, the redox potentials are such that when RED.sub.2 and OX.sub.1 come together, they revert to their lower energy form.
This means the applied potential need only suffice to drive the above reaction to the right. On removing the potential, the system reverts to its low energy state and the cell spontaneously self-erases.
Such redox pairs are placed in solution in an inert solvent. Typically, an electrolyte is also added. This solution is then placed into a relatively thin cell, between two conductive surfaces. In most applications, at least one of the conductive surfaces comprises a very thin layer of a transparent conductor such as indium tin oxide (ITO), doped tin oxide or doped zinc oxide deposited on a glass substrate so that the cell is transparent from at least one side. If the device is to be used in a mirror, the second surface is typically defined by a relatively thin layer of transparent conductor such as indium tin oxide, doped tin oxide or doped zinc oxide deposited on another glass substrate, which is silvered or aluminized or otherwise reflector coated on its opposite side. In the case of solar control windows, the second glass substrate would of course not be silvered on its opposite side so that when the redox pair is colorless, the window would be entirely transparent.
A wide variety of cathodically coloring species, anodically coloring species, inert current carrying electrolytes and solvent systems are described in prior art. However, combinations of these suitable to meet the performance required for outdoor weathering, particularly for outdoor weathering of automobile rearview mirrors and automobile and architectural windows, have hitherto not been revealed. Nor have combinations been revealed that, in conjunction with possessing inherent UV stability, meet the temperature extremes required in commercial automotive and architectural applications. Nor have combinations been revealed that meet the UV resilience and temperature extremes required in automotive and architectural applications and that simultaneously have sufficiently low vapor pressures to facilitate use of a vacuum backfill technique to fill thin cells where the interpane spacing is very small. With higher vapor pressures, undesirable voids are left with the solution in the vacuum backfilled cell.
Vacuum backfilling has been used to fill liquid crystal displays. Liquid crystal displays are typically much smaller than the large areas of typical electrochemichromic devices such as mirrors and windows. Liquid crystal materials have inherently high viscosity and low vapor pressure. To fill with liquid crystal using the vacuum backfill technique, elevated temperatures are typically used so that the liquid crystal viscosity is sufficiently low that the material flows into and fills the cavity. Because of their inherent low vapor pressure even at elevated temperatures, voids are not a significant problem during backfilling with liquid crystals. The same is not true for many electrochemichromic solvents cited in the prior art.
Many of the organic solvents proposed in the prior art as solvents for electrochemichromic compounds have disadvantages when chosen for UV resilient devices. This is because commonly suggested solvents, such as acetonitrile, propylene carbonate, gamma-butyrolactone, methyl ethyl ketone, dimethylformamide and the like, are highly transmissive to UV radiation. Incoming UV radiation that is admitted by the ITO-coated glass substrate is unattenuated by the solvent and thus is capable of photolyzing or otherwise degrading any UV vulnerable solute in solution in that solvent.
Addition of UV stabilizers such as benzotriazoles, benzophenones, or hindered amine complexes, as known in prior art, can help increase solution stability to UV radiation, but there are limitations and disadvantages to addition of UV stabilizers. Because they are held in solutions of low to moderate viscosity, both the UV stabilizer and the electrochemichromic solutes are free to randomly move about in the solution. Thus, an incoming photon of UV radiation may impinge and thus degrade an electrochemichromic solute species rather than be absorbed by a UV absorber in solution. Also, solubility within the selected solvent places limits on the amount of UV stabilizer that can be added.
Solute solubility is also a factor in connection with the choice of solvents for electrochemichromic components. High solubility is preferred for the anodic and cathodic species as well as for electrolytes which are usually added to such solutions. Such electrolytes enhance cell performance and must be soluble in the solvent.
Yet another problem encountered in electrochemichromic devices related to current leakage. When the electrochemichromic cell is colored by the application of voltage, the colored species OX.sub.1 and RED.sub.2 continually want to recombine and return to their equilibrium, colorless condition. The rate of recombination of the colored species OX.sub.1 and RED.sub.2 within the bulk of the solution is directly proportional to their diffusion coefficient in the solvent used. In order to compensate for the tendency of the colored species to recombine and go to the colorless equilibrium state, current must continually leak into the electrochemichromic solution via the conductive electrodes that typically sandwich said solution.
Because current must flow across the conductive surface of the transparent conductor used on at least one of the substrates that sandwich the electrochemichromic cell, and because these transparent conductors have finite sheet resistance, applied potential will be highest adjacent to the bus bar connector typically located at an edge perimeter and will be lowest near the center of the device as current passes across the conductive glass surface to color remote regions. Thus, if the leakage current is high and/or the sheet resistance of the transparent conductor is high, the potential drop that ensues across the transparent conductor itself results in a lower potential being applied to remote regions. Coloration is therefore nonuniform with the edge regions nearest the bus bar coloring deepest and the central regions coloring lightest. Such nonuniformity in coloration is commercially undesirable. For a given transparent conductor sheet resistance, the lower the leakage current the more uniform the coloration. This is an important advantage; otherwise, a thicker and hence more costly and less transparent conductive coating would be needed to reduce the sheet resistance to accommodate the higher leakage currents seen with solvents suggested in the prior art.
Yet another disadvantage of higher leakage currents is their imposition of a drain on battery-power sources in some instances. If an electrochemichromic device were used in a sunroof, for example, it would be desirable to have the sunroof colored dark while the car is parked in a parking lot. If the current leakage is too great, the operator could find that the car battery has been drained as a result of current being drawn by the colored sunroof.
One further problem which plagues electrochemichromic devices is "segregation." When first bleached after being held for a prolonged period in the colored state, bands of color are seen adjacent to the bus bar connectors to the transparent conductive electrodes that sandwich the electrochemichromic solution. In electrochemichromic solutions revealed in prior art, various methods must be used to reduce segregation. These include thickening the electrochemichromic solution, use of low concentrations of electrochemichromically active species, and use of high concentrations of current-carrying electrolyte. The addition of thickeners will also reduce leakage current. One problem with adding thickeners is that the solution can become so viscous that vacuum backfilling a thin electrochemichromic cell becomes commercially unfeasible.
As a result of these drawbacks, electrochemichromic solutions and devices based thereon have not achieved the degree of commercial success which they potentially could achieve. Prior artisans have failed to relate these problems to the solvents used in electrochemichromic solutions, typically simply providing a laundry list of organic solvents without discrimination as to the impact of any one on solving such problems. Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 3,806,229 to Schoot provides a laundry list including glutarodinitrile (glutaronitrile), acetonitrile, propionitrile, benzonitrile, propylene carbonate, nitromethane and acetic acid anhydride with no appreciation for the peculiarities of any one solvent.